Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus has been campaigning for Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain as a serious Heisman Trophy candidate for most of the first half of the 2025 season. In an article published on Thursday, Chadwick named Bain as his winner of six national awards, including the Heisman Trophy.
Chadwick also named Bain as his choice for the Maxwell Award, which also awards the best player in college football, the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the best defensive player, the Rotary Lombardi Award as the best lineman and the Ted Hendricks Award as the best defensive end.
Other than the Heisman Trophy, the Hendricks Award might be the most prestigious for a Miami player. Hendricks was a three-time All-American at Miami, including unanimously in 1967 and 1968 and the second Hurricane alum inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
Bain leads Miami with 26 tackles and has 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one interception, one pass defended and one forced fumble. The Heisman Trophy campaign for Bain will likely be hindered by being a DL and not producing an exceptional traditional stat line in 2025.
"Winner: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (FL)Max Chadwick, Pro Football Focus
If the Heisman Trophy is truly for “the most outstanding player in college football,” that’s Rueben Bain Jr. right now. His 95.2 overall PFF grade is the highest among all players in the country, and he leads all FBS edge defenders in PFF run-defense grade while placing fifth in PFF pass-rush grade. Miami is one of the best teams in the country because of its dominance in the trenches, and Bain is the biggest reason for that excellence."
A DL has never won the Heisman Trophy. Hugh Green, who was a hybrid DL/linebacker for Pittsburgh in 1980 and Nebraska tackle Ndamukong Suh in 2009, were the only DL to finish second in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Defensive backs Charles Woodson of Michigan in 1997 and Travis Hunter of Colorado in 2024 are the only players who also played defense to win the Heisman Trophy. Hunter played on both offense and defense in 2024, while Woodson primarily played defense and was an elite punt returner and an occasional receiver.
Bain has had a redemptive 2025 season after he produced inconsistent numbers following an injury in the season opener against Florida that caused him to miss the next four games in 2024. Bain was the 2023 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-American.
Led by Bain and DL Akheem Mesidor, Miami is ninth nationally, allowing 13.6 points per game, 16th permitting 276.4 yards per game, 14th with opponents gaining 87.40 rushing YPG and 35th conceeding 189.0 passing YPG. Miami has improved significantly defensively in 2025 largely because of Bain's dominance.